In Victorian times, Mary Tremayne is going blind and starts training her dog, Shep, as a guide dog. But guide dogs are ahead of her time, and she is meeting strong opposition.
Beth Marshall was left to support her brothers and sisters when her mother died. To her horror, Beth realised that she was losing her sight, and she became desperate to provide a future for the younger children before the blindness overtook her. Beth’s ruthless landlord, Mr Crumley, employed her as a seamstress.
A car accident kills Jane Carlton’s father and leaves her with a scarred face that she is very sensitive about, and she a long wait for the plastic surgery to fix the problem. Jane’s sensitivity about her face is causing problems at her new locality and school. More problems arise when Mum falls for Roger Kemp and Jane realises he is dodgy.
Linda Lyall is sent from a Children’s Home to the wealthy Hampton family. By mistake they think she is blind and she takes advantage of this to play on their sympathy.
Unknown to her parents, Sally Jones discovered that her pony, Beauty, bought cheaply from a travelling horse-dealer, was blind. A vet recommended that he be put down, but Sally was determined to look after him and keep his blindness a secret.
Blind Beauty – Judy: #1271 (19 May 1984) – #1290 (29 September 1984)
Orphan Debbie Tate and her young brother, Peter, were being looked after by their greedy Aunt Betty and Uncle Joe. Hoping to claim compensation money for Debbie’s car accident injuries, they forced her to pretend she was a helpless cripple. However, Debbie had once taken ballet lessons and was able to resume her dancing in secret. After a Ballet Festival, in which Debbie had danced using the name Karen Foster, a ballet teacher called Felicity Dale showed an interest in her. Debbie was going to meet Felicity when she discovered that Peter had run away. During her anxious search for him, she realised that Felicity’s train had left.
Debbie Must Dance Again! – Judy: #1178 (07 August 1982) – #1193 (20 November 1982)
Canadians Jane and Joe Donnelly have been brought up in a strictly run sect, The Children of Carona. They have to get special dispensation from their sect to pursue ice-skating careers. Then disaster strikes when Joe’s sight begins to fail, and the beliefs of their sect forbid him from seeking treatment. Their trainer, Myra Calvert, investigates the sect and discovers it is being run by racketeers – who are now out to kill the Donnellys.
Sandra Shaw and her family are bird-watching on the island of Alteiri when it is taken over by Antello Perez and his Black Mambe terrorists. They plan to assassinate President Stanislau of Louvain, a world-famous peace worker. Perez takes Sandra hostage. She is determined to swim for help, but has to learn to swim properly after polio, and in secret.
When Sally Dean loses her sight, she is sent to Mill Bank Home for the Blind. The headmistress, Miss Lancaster, seems to be harsh, but she secretly has kind reasons for her severity.
Plot:
Kim Cartwright realises that Tricia Hudson, who has been living with the family since her parents’ deaths, is faking blindness to get anything she wants. Tricia is also playing dirty tricks to push Kim out and take her place in the family. But Kim cannot prove it because Tricia is too clever to be caught out. The situation reaches the point where the parents decide to send Kim to boarding school.
